| 摘要 |
<p>The present invention addresses the problem of providing a production method which can produce a carotenoid composition, which is derived from a naturally occurring material and contains astaxanthin or the like at a high content, from a culture of yeast belonging to the genus Xanthophyllomyces with high efficiency and on an industrial scale without requiring the use of a specialized extraction facility or a complicated purification process or without necessarily requiring the use of an organic solvent that is harmful to human bodies. The method for producing a carotenoid composition according to the present invention is characterized by comprising three steps, i.e., (1) a washing step of washing yeast that belongs to the genus Xanthophyllomyces and contains carotenoid with a washing solvent having a water content of 3 to 50 wt% at least one time, (2) a heat treatment step of subjecting the washed yeast belonging to the genus Xanthophyllomyces to a heat treatment in a heat treatment solvent under high-temperature conditions of 65°C or higher, and (3) an extraction step of bringing the heat-treated yeast belonging to the genus Xanthophyllomyces into contact with an extraction solvent to extract a carotenoid from the yeast at a temperature of 10 to 70°C.</p> |
